Conveyer construction



Oct. 24, 1944. E. SMITH CONVEYER CONSTRUCTION Filed July 16, 1942 4Sheets-Sheet l UCL 4%, 1344.

L. E. SMITH CONVEYER CONSTRUCTION Filed July 16, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 2Oct. 24, 1944. L, SMITH 2,361,131

CONVEYER CONS TRUCTION Filed July 16, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 24,1944. E l jH 2,361,131

CONVEYER CONSTRUCTION Filed July 16, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Oct.24, 1944 CONVEYER CONSTRUCTION Lewis E. Smith, Congress Park, 111..assignor to International Harvester Company, a corporation of New JerseyApplication July 16, 1942, Serial No. 451,141

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a conveyer construction. More specifically itrelates to an elevator for a potato digger. On a potato digger there isnormally provided an elevator which extends upwardly and rearwardly froma digger blade to a certain high point and then downwardly andrearwardly therefrom. ,By the elevator, potatoes dug by the digger bladeare transported upwardly and rearwardly and are shaken to remove thedirt and are deposited upon the ground at the rear of the elevator. Insome cases it is desirable to have the elevator formed asa continuousconveyer extending the full length of the machine, and in otherinstances it is desirable that the elevator be formed in separateconveyer sections. Sometimes it is required that the same machine becapable of employing both forms of elevators, and in this case theremust be some way of readily transformingflhe drive. The presentinvention has to do with a driving means by which an elevator formedeither as a single continuous conveyer section or as two conveyersections may be driven.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved conveyerconstruction.

A further object is the provision of an improved potato digger.

Another object is to provide a driving means capable of quick and easyconversion, whereby both a single continuous conveyer and a pair ofconveyer sections may be driven.

Still another object is the provision of driving means for a singlecontinuous conveyer serving as the elevator for a potato digger. Otherobjects will appear from the disclosure.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of one form of potato digger of the presentinvention;

Figure 2 is a ectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of another form of potato digger of the presentinvention;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line l4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a detail view of a roller employed with the potato digger ofFigure 3;

Figure 6 is an exploded view of the roller;

Figure 7 is a detail view of a driving sprocket employed with the potatodigger of Figure 1; and

Figure 8 is an exploded view of the driving sprocket.

.In Figures 1 and 2 is illustrated a potato digger which includes anelevator composed of a front conveyer section It extending upwardly andrearwardly from a digger blade, not shown, and a rear conveyer sectionII. The rear section II is mounted between side sheets I2 which areadjustable about a transverse pivot axis upon which is mounted atransverse driving shaft 13. The transverse shaft 13 is mounted belowside sheets 14 between which the front conveyer section I0 is mounted.The rear section of the machine, including the rear conveyer section II,is adjustable with respect to the front section of the machine about thetransverse driving shaft l3, and the adjustment is accomplished by meansof a rod 15 connected with one side sheet l2 of the rear section and adetent lever I6 mounted upon a post I1 forming a part of the frontsection of the machine. This is all more fully shown in the patent toGronke et a1. 1,673,193, June 12, 1928, and forms no part of the presentinvention. The drive of the elevator sections l0 and II originates witha power take-off shaft I8 extending from a source of power which may bea tractor drawing the digger. The power take-off shaft l8 extends into agear box l9 and drives by means, not shown, a transverse shaft 20 uponwhich is secured a sprocket 2|. The sprocket 2| drives a chain 22 whichin turn drives a sprocket 23 secured upon one end of the transverseshaft I3. Upon the other end of the shaft I3 is secured a sprocket 24which drives a sprocket chain 25, which in turn drives a sprocket 26secured to a transverse driven shaft 21 positioned at the rear end ofthe conveyer section II. Secured to the driven shaft 21 are sprockets 28and 29 which drive the conveyer section ll from its rear end. The frontconveyer section I0 is driven by a pair of sprockets 30 secured to thetransverse driving shaft 13.

Figures 7 and 8 show each sprocket 30 to be formed of a pair of hubsections 31 and a pair of rim sections 32. Each hub section 3| has aboltreceiving portion 33. The bolt-receiving portions fit together, asshown in Figure 7, and receive bolts 34 to the ends of which are securednuts 35 for holding the hub sections 3| together. The

" hub sections are keyed upon the driving shaft I3 by a key 36. Theouter portion 31 of each hub section 3| is reduced in thickness and thusthere is a shoulder 38 formed. The outer portion 31 receives a narrowportion 39 of the rim section 32, the rim section 32 being secured tothe narrow portions of the narrow sections 3| by bolts and nut 40. Eachrim section 32 has a wide portion 4| which has teeth 42 formed thereon.When the rim sections 32 are bolted to the hub sections 3|, and the hubsections 3| are secured upon the transverse driving shaft |3 by thebolts 34 and nuts 35, a completed driving sprocket 30 i secured upon theshaft |3. Thus, in the potato digger of Figures 1 and 2, there areprovided two conveyer sections l and II, the rear section I! beingdriven by sprockets 28 and 29 secured upon the driven shaft 21positioned at the very rear end of the digger, and the front section Inbeing driven by the sprockets 30 secured upon the transverse drivingshaft |3.

It is sometimes desirable to convert the digger of Figures 1 and 2having two separate conveyer sections to the form shown in Figure 4provided with a single conveyer 43 extending the full length of thedigger. Such a conveyer is driven entirely by the transverse drivenshaft at the rear end of the digger and the sprockets 28 and 29 securedupon the shaft. In this case, the drive originates with the powertake-off shaft |8 and goes through the gear box l9, stub shaft extendingfrom the gear box, sprocket 2| secured upon the stub shaft 20, thesprocket chain 22, the sprocket 23, and the transverse shaft |3. Thetransverse shaft l3 drives the sprocket 24, which in turn drives thesprocket chain driving the sprocket 26 secured to the transverse shaft21. This general arrangement and drive is shown in the copendingapplication of Lewis E. Smith, Serial No. 335,432, filed May 16, 1940.In the arrangement shown in that application, the transverse drivingshaft |3 has mounted thereon sprockets which mesh with the intermediatesection of the elevator 43 but are not secured to the transverse shaftso that they do not transmit any drive from the shaft to theintermediate portion of the sprocket. The construction of the presentapplication differs from that of copending Smith application in thatrollers 44 are substituted for sprockets. A pair of these rollers 44 issecured upon the transverse driving shaft l3 and each roller is formedas indicated in Figures 5 and 6. According to Figure 5, each rollercomprises a pair of hub sections identical with those of the sprocket 30of Figures '7 and 8, and a pair of rim sections 45. Each rim section 45has a narrow portion 46 adapted to be secured by bolts and nuts 40 tothe narrow portion 31 of the hub section 3|. Each rim section 45 is alsoprovided with a wide portion 41 which is smooth and semicircular on itsexterior. When the hub sections 3| are secured to one another upon thetransverse driving shaft l3, and the rim sections 45 are bolted to thehub sections 3|, there is formed a complete roller 44 secured to thetransverse drive shaft l3. Since the rim sections 45 are smooth andcircular, they have rolling contact with the conveyer 43 and do notdrive it. Thus. the entire drive of the conveyer is carried out by thetransverse driven shaft 21 and the sprockets 28 and 29 at the rear endof the conveyer. The rollers 44, secured upon the transverse drivingshaft l3 and having no driving engagement with the elevator 43, are ofadvantage over the construction of the copending Smith applicationaccording to which sprockets meshing with the coneyer are freely mountedfor rotation with respect thereto. It has been described that in theconstruction of the copending Smith application there was wear betweenthe sprockets and the shaft due to relative rotation therebetween. Inthe present application, there is no wear between the rollers and thetransverse driving shaft l3 due to relative rotation, since the rollersare keyed to the shaft and there is very little wear between the rollersand the conveyer 43 resting upon them.

When the digger of Figures 1 and 2 is to be converted to that of Figures3 and 4, not only is the single continuous conveyer 43 substituted forthe conveyer sections l0 and II but also the rim sections 32 having thesprocket teeth 42 are unbolted from the hub sections 3|, and the rimsections 45 are substituted therefor. This arrangement involvingdetachable rim sections is of great advantage, since it enables a changein form from a sprocket to a roller without the removal of a sprocketand the putting on of a roller, which would require removal of thetransverse driving shaft I3.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that a new and noveldriving means for a potato digger elevator has been provided. This meansincludes a sprocket mounted upon a drive shaft, which sprocket isprovided with detachable rim sections so that smooth circular rimsections may be substituted for the conversion of the sprocket to aroller in order that no drive will be transmitted to a conveyer at thispoint. Thus, when a single continuous conveyer is substituted for twoseparate conveyer sections, drive is withdrawn from one point of themachine by the transformation of the sprocket into a roller so thatdrive is introduced into the single continuous conveyer at only onepoint.

The use of roller sections upon the transverse driving shaft is novelinsofar as it provides a means of supporting a mid-portion of the singlecontinuous elevator without driving it as a substitute for sprocketsmeshing with the mid-portion of the elevator but without drivingengagement with the transverse driving shaft.

It is the intention to limit the invention only within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a digger including a frame comprising a front section and a rearsection adjustably connected to the front section on a transverse pivotaxis, a continuous elevator extending the length of both sections, and asource of power, the combination therewith of a drive shaft positionedon the pivot axis of the frame sections and driven by the source ofpower, and means driven by the drive shaft and driving the elevator byengagement with the rear end thereof, and hub means secured to the driveshaft for supporting a certain rim secured thereto, the rim beingreadily removable, whereby an alternate type of rim may be easilysubstituted for modifying the machine.

2. In a digger including a frame comprising a front section and a rearsection adjustably connected to the front section on a transverse pivotaxis, a continuous elevator extending the length of both sections, and asource of power, the combination therewith of a drive shaft positionedon the pivot axis of the frame sections and extending across theelevator, means connecting the source of power and a point on the driveshaft at one side of the elevator for driving the elevator, meansconnecting a point on the drive shaft at the other side of the elevatorand the rear end of the elevator, and a pair of spaced members securedto the drive shaft for supporting an intermediate portion of theelevator, said spaced members each including a pair of clamp hubsections and a detachably secured outer rim for contact with theelevator, whereby the outer rim may be any one of several typesdepending on the use desired.

3. In a digger including a, frame comprising a front section and a rearsection adjustably connected to the front section on a transverse pivotaxis, a continuous elevator extending the length of both sections, and asource of power, the combination therewith of a drive shaft positionedon the pivot axis of the frame sections and driven by the source ofpower, and means driven by the drive shaft and driving the elevator byengagement with the rear end thereof, and a. pair of spaced supportingmeans secured to the drive shaft supporting an intermediate portion ofthe elevator, each supporting means comprising a hub secured to thedrive shaft and a pair of smooth rim segments detachably secured to thehub, whereby a toothed type of rim may be easily substituted for thesmooth rim on the hub.

LEWIS E. SMITH.

